Roller assemblies in the form of roll guides are used in the steel industry to direct the metal product being formed. Typically four roll guides are used in pairs with one pair giving horizontal control and another pair giving vertical control. Roll guides made of conventional steel material have a short life due to the heat, the environment, and stresses induced during metal forming operations.
In the past, roll guides have also been made from thermal resistant ceramic materials. These ceramic roll guides were of a single piece construction with pockets formed in the inside diameter to accept a bearing race. Although these ceramic guides outlast the steel guides from a wear standpoint, there is a tendency for the ceramic guides to crack and break.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,260 to Fowler describes a cylindrical roller rotatably supported on a stationary shaft having an end bearing and supporting a relatively thick cylinder of a ceramic material or a single elongated ceramic cylinder mounted on steel sleeve which includes end bearings. Both Fowler and the ceramic roll guide previously described rely upon pressing or otherwise interference fitting bearings or sleeves in contact with the ceramic.